Prayer and Warfare: Unleashing God’s Mighty Power

Written By Tony K and Joanie Stahl (August 2016)

Have you often asked yourself why we are not seeing the miracles, healings, supernatural visitations, and signs and wonders seen in the Book of Acts today? How often have we each truly seen lasting miracles wrought through prayers spoken in faith and boldness by Believers? I think most of us who have been Christians for any length of time will be able to recount a few such instances that we have personally experienced. We then acknowledge that we long to see more of them.

Does not your heart leap for joy when you hear stories of amazing miracles of God’s provision or miraculous healings? Perhaps you have been in awe when you hear of people having heavenly visions, or angelic visitations, or hearing God clearly speak to them in ways that are out of the ordinary.

Yes, most of us love to hear of stories that can only be attributed to the supernatural power of God. However, our enthusiasm dwindles to find that this can only be achieved through spending much time in prayer and study of The Word. It is only through prayer that we attain a place where we learn to hear the voice of God. If we wish to be in communion with God to the point where He is the one directing our steps and giving us boldness to speak in faith for miracles, then time alone with Him is crucial.

One person who has spent many years in her prayer closet is Joanie Stahl. As a result, she has seen God move miraculously on many occasions. She will describe one such amazing incident in the next section of this article in her own words. I will now hand this over to Joanie. (Tony K)

“To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, and glorious majesty of His kingdom.” (Psalms 145:12, KJV).

On many occasions, the Holy Spirit worked miracles and other incredible acts of power using me as His vessel – a simple, ordinary vessel. Each time it was as awesome as the time before. Every time He used me, it only increased my understanding of how alive He truly is. Not only is He alive, but He is living mightily in the earth through us. He dwells in the earthly tents of our bodies the same way God dwelt in tents during the days when the Israelites were in the desert. I would like to share with you one of these miracles.

A few years ago, during daily morning devotions, I had a waking vision of a hospital. It was strong and vivid. Like watching a real movie within my eyes. I saw myself entering in through the front door. Then the vision ceased. Nearly every single day, and many times for hours, I would get these visions of that same hospital. The only difference from one vision to the next is that every few days, the vision would deepen and enlarge itself. They always began the same. I would see myself walking through the front door of the hospital, but as days, weeks, and months drew on, I would see myself go inward, deeper into the hospital through hallways and turning left and sometimes right.

This went on for nearly one year. I began to immediately pray and petition the Lord, asking Him what these visions meant. For an entire year, God was silent. Towards the end of the year, I had one last vision. As in all the visions, I saw myself entering deeper and deeper into the hospital building. However, this one morning I saw myself stop at a desk in a hallway. The vision ended and I knew in my spirit that that was the last of all the visions because I had stopped at that desk.

Consequently, soon afterwards during the end of my morning devotions (bible and prayer time), I received a phone call from one of my oldest friends named Gloria who was, and still is, a mighty intercessor. As soon as I answered the phone and heard her voice, my heart began to race and I felt the power of the Holy Spirit fill up my body with force. This only happens when the Holy Spirit is getting ready to act.

She told me that there was a man in the hospital who had pancreatic cancer. He had only six weeks left to live. She asked me if I would be willing to go with her and her husband to pray over this man. Instantly, I heard the voice of the Lord declare within me, “He shallnot die but live and declare the works of the Lord!” I had my mandate. I bowed my head and said, “Yes Lord! Let it be as you say. Amen!” My friend Gloria and her husband Don picked me up to ride with them to the hospital.

When we got there, Gloria was holding a little paper with the directions on how to get to the man’s room. Outstandingly, the moment I stepped through the doors of the hospital, I knew exactly where I was going. Gloria was following me asking me how I knew the way. I did not have time to tell her, because I was not ready yet.

We arrived at the desk in the hallway and she tried to keep walking. I told her that we had arrived at the right destination because I recognized the desk and the layout of the area the same way I saw in the last vision. Checking her instructions, she and her husband looked at me with surprise. At that moment, we saw the man’s children leaving his room. They were all crying as they had spoken the first of their final goodbye’s to their father.

We knew we could then go in because all his children left. When we were about enter his room, I stopped my friends and said, “Listen to me, I need to tell you what the Lord told me this morning about this man. He said,“He shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord!”Being that my friends are old potent fighters, they knew the power of standing in agreement before we entered. They nodded in strong agreement to the affirmative.

As soon as we stepped over the threshold into that hospital room, the whole room was filled thickly with heavenly power and the awesome presence of the Holy Spirit. I felt that power enter into me, making me one with God. I walked over to the man’s wife. I was perfectly and divinely directed with sharp exactness. I asked her, “Are you a Christian?” She answered, “Yes!” I said to her, “Then you can stay.” I saw the man’s daughter and I asked her the same question, “Are you a Christian?” She answered, “Yes!” I told her she could remain in the room as well. A part of me was highly aware that there was a right reason that the Holy Spirit wanted that question answered. He could not have anyone in that room with any doubt, even the man’s wife or daughter.

I approached the man. Even though he was on strong narcotics, he lay in a fetal position with his knees drawn up to his chest in terrible pain. He was wincing from the pain as I introduced myself to him. I said, “Hi my name is Joanie. I am a friend of the Lord Jesus Christ. I have come to pray for you. What do you want the Lord Jesus Christ to do for you?” He replied, “My name is Joe. I have not been to church since I was six years old. I am also a Catholic.” I answered, “Joe, that is okay. But, what do you want the Lord to do for you?”

Joe answered, “I want to go home.” Knowing that he was unsaved, he was not referring to heaven. He was speaking of his family home. I could feel the power in the room and within myself mounting up so strongly, it was almost too much for my physical body. I said to Joe, “Give me your hand.”

He stretched out his hand as I closed my eyes and began to pray softly. Within seconds, the power was so intense I could no longer pray in my English tongue. My heavenly prayer language of tongues took over. As I prayed, my eyes still closed, I saw a waking vision. I first saw Joe’s pancreas half-eaten up from the cancer. Yet, as I continued praying, I watched his pancreas transform into a completely healed, whole organ. As soon as it became new, I felt the power abruptly end.

I stopped the prayer in Jesus name as I gave thanks. The moment I opened my eyes, I felt the potent presence of the Lord, along with the presence of the Holy Spirit, depart. I felt at that moment that I just wanted to leave. Right away, I heard the voice of the enemy mock me, and berate me. Through the night and into the morning I was firmly attacked by those accusations. When it was morning, I arose from my bed. Shortly afterwards, the phone rang. On the other end was Gloria, my friend that took me to pray for Joe.

Gloria said, “Joanie, you are not going to believe it! Three hours after you left, Joe was sitting up in bed. His wife came in and she said he was just sitting there as if there was nothing wrong and asking for something to eat. He kept saying he was really hungry!”

Two weeks later, I received another call from Gloria saying, “Joanie, you are not going to believe it! Three days after you prayed for Joe he kept getting better and better. They had no choice but to move him down to the second floor! Then on the third week they sent him home because there was no sign of cancer in his pancreas.”

Time marched on and about a year later, I got a call from Gloria. She stated, “Joanie, guess what? Do you remember the man you prayed for in the hospital that was dying of pancreatic cancer? Well, soon after he arrived home he felt well enough to attend church. Since then, he received salvation and became heavily involved in his church. He is now one of the church Elders!”

As I understand it, Gloria mentioned to me that she spoke with Joe’s wife after I prayed. Joe’s wife told Gloria that she had been praying for twenty-five years for her husband to come to the Lord for Salvation. I went on from there. I was completely humbled and incredibly grateful that the Lord allowed me to be a part of that great work of salvation. Through a common vessel as myself, Joe was not only healed, but also received Jesus as his Lord and Savior!“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us!” (2 Corinthians 4:7, KJV)…Joanie Stahl.

If Joanie’s recounting of her experience does not get you starving for more of God and desiring to live in a way that allows Him to move through you, then I seriously wonder what it would take to do that! However, if you desire to hear more amazing testimonies and hunger to find the keys to unlocking these types of experiences, then I highly recommend that you listen to Joanie in the below video. In this presentation, she is speaking at a recent conference. She recounts more amazing aspects of her testimony to the power of the Lord Jesus Christ and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. In my years of walking as a Christian, I have heard very few messages delivered with such anointing and power as that in which Joanie Stahl delivers this one. It is potentially life changing. (Tony K)